Home Office in the media: 13 August 2018

Today’s Home Office related stories include about queues at passport control at Heathrow Airport.

Border Force queues at Heathrow

There is widespread coverage, including on the front page of the Times, and on the Today Programme and BBC Breakfast of passengers waiting two-and-a-half hours to go through passport control at Heathrow Airport.

The reports state that there was only one day last month when Border Force met its target of processing 95 per cent of passengers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) within 45 minutes, several papers state.

The Times reports that on 6 July, passengers from outside the EU and a handful of other European countries spent up to two hours and 36 minutes waiting in immigration queues.

The chief executive of Virgin Atlantic claimed that other countries were managing their borders more effectively than Britain. Last week the chief executive of British Airways also criticised Border Force.

A statement from the Home Office on the issue is below.

A Home Office spokesperson said:

"The vast majority of people who arrive at Heathrow get through the border within our service standards.

"But we understand the frustration for those who have experienced longer waits and remain fully committed to working with our partners to reduce waiting times as far as is possible. At the same time, we will not compromise the essential checks we carry out at the border which keep our country safe.

"We are making sure Border Force has the resources it needs and are deploying 200 additional staff at Heathrow over the summer.”

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Home Office in the media is the Home Office's blog on the latest topical home affairs issues. It features a review of leading media stories, responses to breaking news, rebuttal to inaccurate reports, and ministerial comment.